When a wind came with which he thought he could get clear out to sea, he
put all the learned men on shore again, and set off to the ocean; but
as the wind came round to the south-west, and at last to west, he sailed
eastward, out through Eyrarsund, ravaging the land on both sides. He
then sailed eastward along Skane, plundering the country wherever he
came. When he got east to the skerries of East Gautland, he ran in and
landed, and made a great blood-sacrifice. There came two ravens flying
which croaked loudly; and now, thought the earl, the blood-offering has
been accepted by Odin, and he thought good luck would be with him any
day he liked to go to battle. Then he set fire to his ships, landed
his men, and went over all the country with armed hand. Earl Ottar, who
ruled over Gautland, came against him, and they held a great battle with
each other; but Earl Hakon gained the day, and Earl Ottar and a great
part of his men were killed. Earl Hakon now drove with fire and
sword over both the Gautlands, until he came into Norway; and then he
proceeded by land all the way north to Throndhjem. The "Vellekla" tells
about this:--
"On the silent battle-field,
In viking garb, with axe and shield,
The warrior, striding o'er the slain,
Asks of the gods 'What days will gain?'
Two ravens, flying from the east,
Come croaking to the bloody feast:
The warrior knows what they foreshow--
The days when Gautland blood will flow.
A viking-feast Earl Hakon kept,
The land with viking fury swept,
Harrying the land far from the shore
Where foray ne'er was known before.
Leaving the barren cold coast side,
He raged through Gautland far and wide,--
Led many a gold-decked viking shield
O'er many a peaceful inland field.
Bodies on bodies Odin found
Heaped high upon each battle ground:
The moor, as if by witchcraft's power,
Grows green, enriched by bloody shower.
No wonder that the gods delight
To give such luck in every fight
To Hakon's men--for he restores
Their temples on our Norway shores."